Google Offers ‘One Pass’ To Challenge Apple Subscription System

By Tiernan Ray

In a slap at Apple’s (AAPL) recently announced publisher subscription terms for its iPhone, iPad and iPod, Google (GOOG) today debuted a subscription payment system of its own, dubbed “One Pass,” that claims greater flexibility in the control publishers have over terms of subscriptions.

A Wall Street Journalarticle by Amir Efrati, Mary Lane, and Russell Adams goes through the various ways in which Google hopes to make the system more appealing than Apple’s, including taking just 10% cut of subscription revenue, rather than the third that Apple charges, and letting publishers hold onto more of the subscriber information.

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There are 4 comments

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 11:05 A.M.

Whatever wrote:

Bring it on, Google! Apple is king & won't be knocked off.

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 11:36 A.M.

Anonymous wrote:

Publishers are very learned but rarely bright or visionary. Whatever misfortune occurred to Gutenberg will not repeat itself this century so the byzantine world of publishing may find itself superseded by a new group of digital publishers who get it and go with Apple for obvious demographic reasons.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.